


A Bitter Longing

by plant_boi_potter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, M/M, Oneshot, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-08 05:36:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19864360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plant_boi_potter/pseuds/plant_boi_potter
Summary: Taking lovers isn't difficult.Unfortunately breaking them is effortless.





	A Bitter Longing

**Author's Note:**

> It's the middle of the night and I've apparently decided Teddy doesn't make me cry enough.

"You don't love me." Albus said flatly. His voice hit the floor, speared through with silence. 

"No," He conceded. "I don't". 

Teddy's eyes flashed in the dim light of the room. His hair stayed fixed, an unchanging mop of indigo. It looked strange, the strands framing his face like a mourning veil. He didn't speak, instead taking the opportunity to moisten his lips, probably unaware of how he looked. 

And oh how he looked; beautiful and soft in the waning light. Cheekbones flowing perfectly into an angled jaw. So clean. So perfect. Teddy could have been a painting until he moved but when he moved... he was a river, eyes bleeding and fading. The change so rapid you wouldn't notice it unless you were Albus. His slight arms were crossed but still the dappled room peppered them with kisses of sunlight.

Albus breathed in, harsh and loud.   
"Then why do you keep doing this- me?" 

"Maybe," he paused, thoughtful. 

"Maybe I need to stop." He said finally.   
Teddy was so controlled, so non-plussed that Albus could almost believe it. He could almost believe that the boy in front of him couldn't love anyone that deeply. There was no passion behind this boy's voice as he spoke, no neediness, no love. 

"Stop what? Stop leading me on?" 

Teddy shook his head, hair shimmering, shifting to black.   
He hastily changed it back. 

"I never lead you on." He spoke slowly, as if he was talking to a confused child. "You knew you were heading for a whirlpool and you still dived in headfirst."

The problem was, Albus thought he knew Teddy, knew him down to his very core. Teddy would be loathe to admit the grains of truth in the statement. 

Al knew that Teddy Lupin liked to eat cereal like crisps when no one else was looking, that Teddy cringed every time his grandmother called him Edward - even though he was getting better at hiding it - he knew that Teddy only caught Bertie Bott's beans in his mouth about 30% of the time and he thought he knew what Teddy wanted. He thought Teddy wanted him. 

It was partially true. The problem was, he didn't just want Albus. He didn't love Albus, and Albus was too stubborn to acknowledge it. That was the hard part. Convincing Al what Teddy wanted, because sometimes Teddy wanted so much it was like he couldn't breathe. Sure, Teddy wanted enough. Teddy just didn't want him.

Words constricted together on his tongue and he swallowed them back down, forcing them to be comfortable in the solitude he'd chosen to wallow in. He had to draw the line somewhere - lest something like this happen. A dark room and an empty heart and another forlorn boy with too much love to give. 

Albus moved through the room so quickly it was as if he'd apparated. He cocked his head to the side, moving his hand slowly, as if approaching a wild animal. 

Teddy's hands were still in his pockets. Until they weren't. 

Teddy's hands moved faster than his brain. As soon as Albus sunk his fingers into Teddy's hair, Teddy felt flesh under his fingertips, holding Al's hipbones like they were a way for him to anchor himself. They weren't, of course. He felt himself slipping, chasing after the dizzying rush of friction that always left his body thrumming with heat. A temporary bliss that made him cave so quickly, tilting his head back and shifting his jaw to allow Albus the access he so desperately craved, the line of his throat lovely and unbroken. 

As soon as Albus' lips grazed his throat Teddy felt as if he could breathe once more and for a minute he wondered why he'd ever wanted to give this up. He keened into the sensation of it all, trying to draw Al's lips closer to his flesh, taking Albus' warm whimpers like water. The feeling was intoxicating. 

Teddy needed a clear head. He couldn't get drunk on Albus anymore. 

Gently pushing him away, Teddy let his eyes rest on him for the last time. Albus, who was all raw lips and ratty hair and lopsided grin and wild eyes. Albus, who thought this thing - whatever it was - would happen again. 

Albus Potter was a heart waiting to be broken and, as Teddy walked away, he swore he could hear it shatter at his feet.


End file.
